Panattoni Europe will build another BTS facility for H&M. The distribution centre spanning over 30,000 sqm will be built in Grodzisk Mazowiecki – construction works are set to start in February 2017. The investment will be certified under the LEED system, aiming for the Silver rating level.

EPAM, an international company which is involved in the development of software and implementation of IT projects, has leased an office area of nearly 3,500 sqm in O3 Business Campus which is being developed by Echo Investment in Kraków. CBRE advised EPAM in the leasing process.

Aluplast sp. z o.o., a supplier of PVC window systems, has signed a lease for 10,000 sqm of warehouse and manufacturing space at the Logicor Poznań III distribution centre. Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant in the lease negotiations.

ZF TRW, a global automotive supplier, has selected Symetris Business Park – developed by Echo Investment – as the location for its new electronics engineering centre in Łódź. The company has leased nearly 2,400 sqm of space. JLL advised ZF TRW on the process of selecting the new space.

International real estate advisor Savills has reported that investors into Europe’s retail sector are shifting their interest to some of the continent’s non-core markets. Investment into Europe’s retail sector during Q1-Q3 2016 reached €33.3 billion across the 15 markets that Savills covers, down 28% from the 2015 record volume. However, despite the overall drop of total turnover in the two largest markets of the UK (-18%) and Germany (-46%) during this time period, Europe’s non-core markets in contrast have experienced a significant rise in retail investment. These include: Ireland (223% to €1.46 billion); Poland (126% to €1.4 billion) and Italy (119% to €1.8 billion).

Looking at what is going on in world politics, TriGranit’s CEO finds it difficult to comprehend why many still stress the political risk factor when talking about the Central European real estate market. He’s optimistic about the future and expects further diminishing returns on investment, along with new investors appearing in Budapest. Árpád Török talked to us about plans for developing TriGranit and the future of the real estate market.

HB Reavis announced that construction has commenced on Varso Place, its flagship development in Warsaw’s city centre. Plans for the 140,000 sqm mixed-use scheme include one of Europe’s tallest towers and two mid-rise buildings. Completion is scheduled for 2020.

2016 saw the highest developer activity in the history of the Polish office market. New supply is expected to remain strong in 2017 with 1.4 million sqm of new space currently under development. JLL published its preliminary summary of Poland's office market performance in 2016

American investor Exeter Property Group has finalized its acquisition of the North-West Logistic Park warehouse and production complex in Szczecin, Poland from Waimea Holding. The value of the transaction has not been disclosed. 

According to JLL’s preliminary forecasts, the total volume of real estate deals on the Polish investment market in 2016 may amount to almost €4.4 billion. The real standout performer was the retail market which came in with nearly €2 billion, followed by the office segment with €1.7 billion and the industrial/logistics sector with nearly €0.5 billion.